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Diesels are typically slower than their gasoline counterparts, but leave it to Audi to turn that notion on its head. After dominating Le Mans and the international endurance racing scene under diesel power for the better part of a decade, the German automaker toyed with the idea of an oil-burning R8 for the road and ultimately made its first performance crossover a diesel. It's made the letters TDI a battle cry, and now it's yelling even louder with the RS5 TDI concept.

After over two years of construction and roughly 500 million euros ($684 million at current rates) invested, Porsche finally opened its Leipzig, Germany, factory expansion on February 11. The improvements to the plant are dedicated to building the Macan and include a new body shop, paint shop and assembly line that are advancing Porsche's goal to sell 50,000 Macan's per year. The company believes that the new model is going to push it to over 200,000 annual sales 3 years ahead of schedule, and t

Manufacture of the next-generation Porsche Panamera could be moving, if a report from Reuters is true. The current-generation Panamera range has its bodies welded together and painted at a Volkswagen facility in Hanover before being shipped to Leipzig where final assembly takes place.

If you recently ordered a Porsche Cayenne or a Panamera, delivery may take a little longer than originally expected. Automotive News reports that production of both models has been temporarily halted at the Porsche assembly plant in Leipzig, Germany as the result of supply shortages caused by flooding in the nearby Czech Republic. The reason for the stoppage is that the body of the Cayenne – currently Porsche's best-selling model – is produced at a Volkswagen plant in the Czech city

Since too much information isn't exactly possible in some situations, BMW is continuing its electric vehicle user study in Leipzig, Germany. The automaker is working with TU Chemnitz (University of Technology) and Stadwerke Leipzig municipal utility to conduct an electromobility study with long-distance commuters in 15 BMW ActiveE EVs in the Leipzig area.

Porsche won't put its second crossover into production for another year, but the Macan is already causing some controversy. Not the Porsche-has-sold-its-soul controversy that accompanied the launch of its big brother Cayenne, but the why-is-the-German-government-subsidizing-it kind.

Porsche has marked an important milestone at its Leipzig plant: The manufacturing facility has officially cranked out its 500,000th vehicle. Matthias Muller, Porsche president and CEO, gave a specially outfitted Cayenne to the city of Leipzig as a token of the company's appreciation for giving the manufacturer a home in the area. Porsche converted the luxury SUV into a fire department vehicle for the city, complete with an appropriate livery and light bar.

Mazda has unveiled a pair of special MX-5 Miata models just for the 2012 Leipzig Motor Show, including a supercharged version of everyone's favorite roadster. For the latter showcar, dubbed "Yusho," Mazda has turned to our friends at Flyin' Miata for a supercharger kit to boost the machine's grunt to around 241 horsepower. As you may recall, that's the same blower that powered our Targa Newfoundland racer. Mazda also threw in a new engine management system paired with a set of new fuel injectors

Say what you will about the Porsche Cayenne – whether you think it's the best-handling SUV on the market or a storied automaker turning its back on its heritage – you can't argue that it hasn't been a huge success for the German automaker. In fact, Porsche has produced 100,000 examples of the Cayenne – and that's only counting the current model.

Back in 1999, Porsche settled on the location for a new factory in Leipzig, Germany. It opened its doors in 2002 with production of the Cayenne, and further expanded in 2009 to gear up for the Panamera. As of November, 2011, the assembly plant has built some 420,000 vehicles, but that's just the start as Porsche further expands the facility to make way for the new Cajun.

Regardless of what the purists think of it, Porsche found a winning business model with the Cayenne SUV. And based on that success, the German automaker is proceeding with plans to build its little brother at its Leipzig plant.

Porsche would like to double its global sales to about 200,000 per year. That's an ambitious goal for a niche company, but Porsche intends to make things happen with the help of more money and manpower. AutoWeek reports that the German automaker plans to hire 1,000 employees by 2015. Half the workers will help build the company's forthcoming small crossover, which has been given the working name 'Cajun,' while the other half will be engineers needed to develop new vehicles. An additional 500 wor

Ford plans to use the Leipzig Motor Show to unveil a new version of the super popular Mondeo capable of running on gasoline, ethanol or liquified petroleum gas. As a flex-fuel car, a computer can detect what concentrations of gas or ethanol are pumped into the tank and can adjust the engine's operation accordingly. The tri-fuel-capable car will use a 2.0L Duratec four cylinder engine that puts out 145 horsepower on either gasoline or ethanol or 141 horses on LPG.